


Fractured Salvation

by AuroraNoirInStardust



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A lot of metaphors about kyber crystals, Angst, But we know what happens next, F/M, How Kylo's lightsaber is magically on his belt when he wakes up, I tried to make it a little hopeful, One Shot, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Throne Room Scene, fill in the blank fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-14 14:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18950011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraNoirInStardust/pseuds/AuroraNoirInStardust
Summary: Rey wakes up after the explosion in the Throne Room aftermath and finds Ben still unconscious.Or- How Kylo's lightsaber magically appears back on his belt.





	Fractured Salvation

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sure this is not the first nor the last story with the same theme and events. But I had a thought and I ran with it. 
> 
> Tons of thanks to [MyJediLife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/pseuds/MyJediLife) for being my beta and all the ladies in the Sprints and Drabbles at the Den who watched this fic slowly come to life tiny piece by tiny piece.
> 
> As always, comments give me life and kudos soothe my soul!

 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/145808226@N04/47925946027/in/dateposted-public/)

 

 

Rey opened her eyes slowly. Smoke and gently falling embers still glittered down in the sky above her, the stars twinkling in the darkness of the vast canvas over her head. For a brief moment, she just lay, staring at the shimmering world about her, as her thoughts started to slide into focus.

Then the pain hit her, and she came careening back to reality, her mind flooding with memories...

Her head pounded, and she felt a wetness that she assumed was blood seeping into her hair. _The sudden explosion that had thrown her back and into unconsciousness._

She dared to wiggle her arms and legs, and her muscles screamed. She forced herself to roll onto her side, and each overworked tendon in her body protested as a groan escaped her. _Fighting so outnumbered for her life._

Her eyes burned in that soreness that too many tears spilled left in its wake. She rubbed at the salt rivers that had dried to her cheeks, streaking the dirt and grime and blood down her face. _“Ben, please don’t go this way.”_

 

 _Ben_.

Where was Ben?

 

Adrenaline suddenly coursed through her veins, giving her the strength to pull herself up to a sitting position. Her eyes frantically searched among the bodies strewn on the ground. Dismembered and mutilated figures, clad in red, lay all around, but she couldn’t see him. Her lungs began to feel tight, her breath becoming shallow and coming quicker. Fear started to leech into her stomach, making her feel ill. 

She wasn’t sure what, exactly, was making her stomach knot. Was it the fear of not finding him, discovering that he had left her for dead? Or dreading she’d find him, lifeless and cold?

Or… then again, was it the terror of finding him alive, but not knowing if it would be Ben or Kylo who would meet her when he opened his eyes?

But, before she could contemplate that, her gaze fell on a crumpled figure clad in black. She stayed still for a moment, waiting for movement. For the rise and fall of his chest. For any small sign of life. But he was still. Unmoving.

Her heart stopped. Her breath faltered. Her eyes welled with more tears.

Feet finding the ground, she pulled her body to standing. She heard herself call his name, softly at first, but then repeating it with more intensity. More urgency. Until she screamed it, hearing it echo in the cavernous room as she fell to her knees at his side.

“Ben! Ben, please, no...” With some effort, she rolled him onto his back and flung herself onto his chest, trying to still her breath and the pounding of her heart in her ears to listen for the beat of his own.

And then… _Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump._

The flood of relief that coursed through her made her dizzy, and she stayed pressed against his chest for a moment. Laying there, she could feel the shallow rise and fall of his breath, which had been hidden from her view before by his layers of clothes. She could feel the heat from his body, smell the scent of him. The intimacy of this moment, the spark of electricity that ignited wherever they connected, and the gentle hum of their bond was not lost on her. The memory of his eyes after the battle, dark with passion and the intensity with which he had held her gaze as he had stalked toward her invaded her thoughts and caused a shiver to run down her spine.

But then… the bitter sting of his words echoed in her head as she lifted herself up from his body and stared at his face. How could he think that she would ever join him on the side of darkness? How could he think that was what their future held? The vision that had flashed before her as their hands touched… it was so clear. It could not have been anything but a premonition of his turn to the light. His face and his _smile_ , so carefree and devoid of the pain and torment that was always etched across it. And, most telling to her… she saw herself by his side, full of joy, gazing up at him with pride and _something else_ … something that caused her heart to pound wildly and a flush to color her cheeks. Yet to save her sanity, she dared not put a name to it. And the rest… the other parts of that vision that bloomed in her mind… No. Thinking of that would only cut the wound in her soul deeper. She closed her eyes and pushed them down, pushed them away. Hid them behind a heavy cloak of despair that he had laid over her heart. If he had really seen the same future, why had he chose to throw it all away? Did he really think that dream could come true in his world?

She shook her head, trying to clear that beautiful vision from her mind, even as she felt it slipping through her fingers like water. Fresh tears slid down her cheeks, and she bit her bottom lip to keep from sobbing.

Then her eyes fell on her saber. She crawled across the floor toward it, a small gasp falling from her lips when she noticed it lay cracked in half. She gingerly picked up the two pieces and held them in her hands. The call of it was just as strong as when it had been whole, but the hum now took on a note of sorrow, almost as if it was crying. She clutched the mangled hilt to her chest. If the crystal within the saber was truly a reflection of the heart of its master, how fitting that her’s was now broken and bleeding.

And then she heard another, softer hum, and felt a tug against her soul. She stood up and crossed the room, following the pull to its source. Ben’s saber lay where it had clattered to the ground mid-losing battle, right before she had turned to see him being overpowered. She’d flung him the saber that now lay in her hands, and that blade had saved both of their lives that day. She cradled it into the linens wrapped about her, and tucked the edges into her belt to keep it safe. Then she knelt, picking his weapon up.

She stared at his saber, looking altogether too large in her hands. It was utterly menacing, dwarfing her fingers. The crystal that lay within it, as cracked and damaged as its master, was still speaking to her, but in a soft way. Nothing like the call of her own, but in a way that had made her confident it would come to her if she called it. That it would protect her in battle.

If the crystal is a reflection of the heart of its master…

She pushed that dangerous thought far from her mind. None of that mattered now. Not when he had rejected that glimmer of light within him, and made his choice so abundantly clear...

But why did his blade still hum in her hands, a sad and mournful song, almost matching the sound of her own damaged crystal? It was surreal to hold them both and hear the strange, eerie lament they emanated, blending together until she could barely distinguish one from the other. Cradling his hilt to her chest to rest against her own, she made her way back to where Ben still lay, standing over him, feeling that string that seemed wrapped about her heart tighten as she looked at his battle-worn face, calmed by unconsciousness.

If she had been someone, anyone else… her next move would be clear. The enemy of the Resistance, the man who would step into the vacant seat of Supreme Leader of the galaxy lay helpless at her feet. She could stop all this madness with a single stroke of his own blade. It would be quick and swift, maybe better than he deserved with all the blood that stained his hands. If she was someone else...

But instead, she was the woman whose soul was hopelessly entangled with his. Even _if_ she had the desire to strike him down, she knew that very bond that knotted them impossibly together would prevent her. How can you destroy the person who held your very destiny in their hands?

Something within her begged her to hold out hope, to keep faith in the shimmer of light she saw within him. Perhaps… perhaps that future that they saw wasn’t altogether lost.

An alarm sounded in the distance and shook her from her thoughts. _Kriff. The fleet_. If they were still alive, she had to get to them, had to help them. She knew she needed to run, run before she was discovered amongst the death and carnage.

Which meant she’d have to leave Ben behind. That thought made her stomach lurch, cementing her to the floor.

He’d made his choice. He refused to join her, refused to come with her before. Why was it so hard to just walk away from him?

The alarms around the ship blared louder, the shrill sound of urgency forcing her trembling limbs to move. She stooped down to kneel beside Ben and rolled him back to his side, finding the clasp at his belt and attaching his lightsaber back on his hip.

Because if she couldn’t bring him with her, she’d at least give him the best chance she could to survive what was to come 

She made a move to leave, but her heart stuttered as she glanced at his face once more. Gently, she brushed the hair from his eyes, laying her hand softly on his shoulder.

“Ben… I have to go. I can’t stay.” She said to his sleeping form, willing her words would find him in his dreams. She leaned forward a little, whispering into his ear, “I still believe it’s not too late, Ben. Come find me. I can wait. If there is one thing in this world I’m good at, it’s waiting. Just remember that the rest of the galaxy may not have much time.”

She squeezed his shoulder before standing up and running in the direction of the escape pod. Halfway there she stopped, turning back for one last glance at him. She let the tears that had been gathering in her eyes as she ran away fall before softly pleading, “Just... please don’t make me wait too long, Ben.”


End file.
